“Dipping” snuff is the original method of using smokeless tobacco. A user inserts his thumb and forefinger into a can of snuff, pinches the desired amount, and then places it between his lower front cheek and gum. The snuff is in direct contact with the gum and lip tissues. Because of the size of its particles and its moisture content, when squeezed between the cheek and gum, a pinch of snuff molds into a given shape and generally stays together in that shape during use only resulting in a small number of single particles traveling on their own elsewhere in the mouth. Best practice is to not leave the dip in one place during use as this will cause irritation, but instead to frequently move the dip to different areas of the mouth between the lower and upper gums and lips.
Another smokeless tobacco, snuss, is more powder-like. It is pulverized and generally has a lower moisture content than snuff, so it does not mold well in the mouth and travels about. When the “dipping” method is used with snuss, which is common in Europe, it is often placed between the upper lip and gum, which is different from the usual North American tradition of placing it between the lower lip and gum. A mess is created because the snuss will not remain just between the cheek and gum; it travels uncontrollably throughout the mouth.
Snuss and snuff tobacco products are often packaged in single-serving, fibrous, “pouches” made from a “tea bag” cellulose fiber type material. These “pouches” retain 100% of the snuff or snuss inside of the pouch keeping the tobacco from contacting the oral tissue directly and keeping the tobacco from traveling about in the mouth. The tea-bag pouch generally reduces mouth irritation since it keeps the tobacco product from directly contacting any oral tissue, yet allowing the saliva to leach into the pouch and mix with the tobacco to create “juice” which then leaches out of the pouch and travels over the tongue to the enjoyment of its user. Unlike a plain dip of snuff, a pouch allows its user to remove the pouch from the mouth and have no residual particles remaining in the oral cavity. A snuff dipper has to rinse the mouth with a liquid after removing the dip or generate excessive saliva to wash the remaining loose particles of snuff from the mouth by expectorating. A pouch can be removed, stored and then re-used later. A dip of snuff is generally a one-time use and then is discarded.
The very commonly used “tea bag” type pouch requires its user to generate a sufficient amount of saliva to dampen the pouch so that the saliva can then be wicked through the fibrous material. Once the “tea bag” is fully saturated, the tobacco inside then absorbs saliva through a wicking process until saturated. Once the tobacco is dampened with saliva, the pouch is then squeezed between the lip and gum, so that tobacco juice is excreted and the chemicals therein are absorbed by the gum and lip tissue. When a snuff filled pouch is used, often excess saliva is generated causing the user to expectorate. When a snuss filled pouch is used, the user is less likely to desire to expectorate because of the differences of the chemical makeup of snuss versus snuff and their respective effects on the salivary glands.
The tea bag material is paper-like and is not very flexible. It is difficult for the user to alter its shape. It also has a sealed flap at either end and often has a seam along its long side. These seams are created by overlapping two pieces of the tea bag material and sealing them. These seals create edges and an additional layer of material that requires more saliva to dampen and can be uncomfortable to the user. With these three seams (two on the ends and one along the side) a significant chance exists, and often occurs, for seam failure. When any one seam fails, the snuff or snuss filling leaves the pouch and enters the mouth floating freely about to the dismay of the user. The longer a pouch is used the higher the likelihood that the cellulose material itself fails. After only 15 minutes of use it is common for a pouch to rupture. A pouch failure results in its user very inconveniently having to abandon the pouch and rinse or spit out all of the loose snuff or snuss from the mouth. Discretion is highly valued by smokeless tobacco users. Eliminating pouch failure could be a commercial advantage over the conventional fibrous pouch.
Since the tea bag material must first be dampened by the user before the tobacco juice can be enjoyed, the flow of saliva in and out of the pouch is much slower than with a dip. It also takes much longer for nicotine from the tobacco inside of the pouch to create a sensation in its user than with a dip of snuff which is in direct contact with oral tissues. The lack of elasticity of the pouch does not allow the user to form it to fit the particular part of the oral cavity desired.
The tobacco inside of the pouch becomes compressed as it hydrates during use from the outside surface slowly towards the center. The tobacco in the center of the pouch is the last portion to be hydrated. Since the tea bag pouch is relatively inflexible, the user cannot reshape and compress the tobacco so that all of the tobacco reaches the same moisture content quickly. The tobacco within a pouch does not move around easily within the pouch. It generally stays in its same form throughout use. Once the tobacco has hydrated to the user's desire, its releases its flavors and chemicals. After these flavors and chemicals are released, the tobacco has to be squeezed even more and moved about in the mouth to get all of the flavors and chemicals out of the tobacco. After a period of use, most of the flavors and chemicals have leached out and the tobacco is no longer of use to the user.
A snuff user has the freedom to form and squeeze the pouchless dip of snuff throughout the dipping process so that approaching 100% of the tobacco is hydrated quickly and that nearly all of the flavors, nicotine and other chemicals are excreted immediately into the user's mouth. In moving a dip about in the mouth with the tongue, it is flipped, turned and folded over and upon itself while between the lower lip and gum. This “dipping” action quickly exposes all of the dip, not just its outer surfaces to the oral tissues. The rate of nicotine absorption into the bloodstream is significantly faster with a dip than with a pouch.
Once dampened, the tea bag pouch becomes very slippery with a coefficient of friction less than that of the adjacent gum and lip tissue resulting in the pouch uncontrollably “swimming” easily around between the lip and gum. The surface of a packed dip of snuff between the cheek and gum has a lower coefficient of friction than a pouch and will remain in a specific location between the cheek and gum considerably easier and longer than with a pouch. Due to this lower coefficient of friction and to the textured surface of a dip of snuff, a dip “sticks” via molecular adhesion somewhat to the tissue it adjoins where the user of a pouch has to put forth additional efforts in contracting the lip to maintain a certain position. For instance, a snuff user can typically cough or sneeze and have the dip remain fully intact and in place. However, coughing or sneezing will frequently dislodge a pouch out of the oral cavity to the dismay of the user and often the surprise of unknowing bystanders.
Discretion is often a critical element of smokeless tobacco usage. It is one of many benefits of using smokeless versus smoking tobacco and is often the most important difference between the two. The use of tobacco has been demonized in modern culture and is often frowned upon. Discretion is very difficult to achieve for smokers. With an oral embodiment that does not bulge the lip, however, a dip or pouch remains fully enclosed and concealed in the mouth and out of any view of bystanders and coworkers. It will hopefully stay in place during unexpected sneezes and coughs ensuring absolute confidentiality of the user's usage which is of critical importance in many business and social situations where the user's reputation is at stake.